Line Line, n. [OE. line, AS. l[=i]ne cable, hawser, prob. from
L. linea a linen thread, string, line, fr. linum flax,
thread, linen, cable; but the English word was influenced by
F. ligne line, from the same L. word linea. See {Linen}.]
1. A linen thread or string; a slender, strong cord; also, a
cord of any thickness; a rope; a hawser; as, a fishing
line; a line for snaring birds; a clothesline; a towline.
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Who so layeth lines for to latch fowls. --Piers
Plowman.
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2. A more or less threadlike mark of pen, pencil, or graver;
any long mark; as, a chalk line.
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3. The course followed by anything in motion; hence, a road
or route; as, the arrow descended in a curved line; the
place is remote from lines of travel.
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{Mason and Dixon's line}, {Mason-Dixon line}, the boundary
line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, as run before the
Revolution (1764-1767) by two English astronomers named
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. In an extended sense,
the line between the free and the slave States; as, below
the Mason-Dixon line, i.e. in the South.